The Complication Watch: Build The Ultimate Watch Collection

The Complication Watch: Build The Ultimate Watch Collection

Aesthetically, the 5074 is an elegant, understated watch that belies the magic that lies within its platinum or rose gold case. It has a clean black or white dial, with applied markers and a classic railroad track outer ring. The slider on the left side of the case, which activates the minute repeater, is subtle and elegant. The watch is mounted on a shiny black crocodile strap, which finished off the look perfectly. Patek provides interchangeable casebacks with the 5074, so you can opt for a solid back or display back. You can guess which one we’d sport most often.

The 5074 is driven by the Patek-manufactured caliber R 27Q, which is a self-winding 39-jewel masterpiece whose balance wheel oscillates six times per second and gears those oscillations to produce three useful complications that nicely meet our essential features.

Moonphase: The 5074’s moonphase sits nicely in the center of the date subdial at the bottom of the dial. A blue and yellow disc showing the phases of moon rotate behind the aperture. Not overly large, it is there when you want it, but is unobtrusive when you don’t.

Perpetual calendar: Patek’s perpetual calendar is subtle and effective. It doesn’t waste dial space with a year indicator that could only be enjoyed one time every 365 days anyway. Days of the week are displayed on the left subdial, which also has a smaller 24-hour inside as a sort of “bonus” complication. The pointer date feature is on the bottom subdial while the month is shown on the right subdial. Leap years are tracked via a small inner dial on the right side. The overall package is very readable, intuitive and, dare we say, uncomplicated.

Minute repeater: The reference 5074 is renowned for the tone of its minute repeater chimes. The gong strikes on the hour, the quarter hour and the number of minutes past each quarter hour, and utilizes two different pitches. And if you’re torn between the platinum and the rose gold case, let us nudge you toward the gold. According to Patek, rose gold is the ideal material for a minute repeater case, providing the right resonance to the chimes. Who are we to argue?

The reference 5074 from Patek Philippe is a masterpiece, a watch worthy of a wealthy patron’s collection and indeed hard to come by. It must be specially ordered and if you need to ask the price, you probably can’t afford it. But we’re building our ultimate watch collection and won’t be denied the ultimate complication watch. And there’s nothing simple about that.